urban birder

Last weekend we travelled to Linton to visit the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary to attend a meeting of the Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group. PJ is interested in sound recording but I just went along for the birds.
The sanctuary is owned by the Bird Observation and Conservation Association and Trust for Nature and is adjacent to a Flora and Fauna Reserve. The sanctuary was purchased by Gordon Clarkesdale who created bird habitat by planting a wide range of Native (but not necessarily indigenous) species. Gordon subsequently endowed the property to BOCA and TFN after his death.
We arrived in the afternoon but rain prevented us from exploring the property, we were lucky enough to be offered the use of an old shed, by the ranger, to shelter in for our evening meal. After building a fire in the old fireplace inside the shed we could enjoy our dinner in comfort. Afterwards Howard set up some deep cycle batteries to provide power so that Fred could use a computer to provide us with an incredible presentation of the birds and their calls of the Iron Range. All of the photos and bird calls presented were personally recorded by Fred on his trips to the Iron Range to band birds.
Shed in the Grantiella Block
The following day, the rain has cleared and it was a crisp sunny day, perfect for sound recording. The sound recordists were up before fist light to record the dawn chorus, this is when Paul made his wonderful recording in the Bird Paddock. By the time I was up at 6.30am the birdsong had begun to quieten down and the birds where beginning to become active and hopping around the camp. After a bit of help from the recordists (most who are excellent at identifying bird calls) I was able to hear just how many bird species were in the camp by their calls. I counted around 20 species within earshot including fan-tailed cuckoo, Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo, Rufous Whistler, Striated Pardalote, Buff-Rumped Thornbill and Olive-Backed Oriole. Later we went for a walk in the bird paddock where we saw and heard Shining-Bronze Cuckoos, Jacky Winter, Sacred Kingfisher, Dusky Woodswallows and many others. On the way back we ran into Fred who taught us how to tell the difference between the call of the Shining Bronze and Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoos. In the afternoon I went for a quiet walk on my own (while the others were resting) to the Grantiella Block. I was able to either see or hear 54 species on that day, other members of the group could have added some additional species onto that list.
Bird Paddock
Some additional members arrived on Saturday afternoon. We all went into Linton for the evening where Jill had arranged to cook us dinner in the local fire station. The highlight of the evening was a presentation by Andrew of the sounds of the Thai rainforests recorded on his recent trip there, including a recording of the White-handed Languor. Andrew had managed to capture the calls of this beautiful creature and even came close enough to take some beautiful photos as well.
The next morning there was time for some more recording before the annual general meeting was held. After this we said our goodbyes for this year but not before agreeing to meet up in Leeton (NSW) the location of the Fivebough Wetlands next year for the 2009 Workshop.

The Escarpment on a foggy morning.
Today Friends of Royal Park held the 5th of their bi-monthly bird surveys of the Trin Warren Tam-boore area. The wetlands are around three years old and were installed as part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Village. Since then they have become well established and support an increasing diversity of bird species.
Today the wetlands were slightly below capacity with some mudflats exposed, as we stated off an Australian Hobby flew overhead. At the Treatment Pond our first surprise for the day was a Great Egret standing knee deep in the pond, the first time this species has been recorded on our surveys. As we walked around the pond we recorded a number of water birds including Australasian Grebes, Purple Swamphen and Black Duck. Other smaller birds were present too, such as Superb Fairy-wren and White-plumed Honeyeater. Clamorous Reed Warblers had returned for the summer, we watched as a pair flew to and from their nest within the reeds. Little Grassbirds were calling but being as elusive as ever.
The next section of the walk took us through the 'Skink Habitat'. The White's Skink were once widespread in Melbourne but now only thrive in a few areas around Melbourne, they were 'rediscovered' some years ago during a clean up program of this area and may be the only long term viable population close to Melbourne. A small creek runs alongside this habitat, it's one of the best place to see little birds. Today we saw a pair of Spotted Pardalote and a New Holland Honeyeater, last week when I walked through this area Grey Fantails and Silvereyes were present, but there was no sign of them today.
As we walked up the bike path towards the 'Woodland Escarpment' area a Grey Butcherbird was chased into a dense bush by a Red Wattlebird. Red Wattlebird was the predominant species present on the escarpment today, but we also saw a small party of Superb Fairy-wren and heard a Grey-shrike Thrush and a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo calling.
The last section of the walk took us to the Storage Pond, the water here is deeper and more open so the species present are often different from those on the Treatment Pond. Today we recorded our first pair of Grey Teal. The Hardhead ducks, not present all winter, had returned, we counted 8 of them. There were several Australasian Grebe on nests and best of all, another new record for our list, was the pair of Black Swans who now have a large nest floating on the water at the edge of the reed beds. Other birds present were Eurasian Coots, Dusky Moorhen, Black Ducks, Clamorous Reed-warblers and Little Grassbirds.
Our total species count for the day was 34.
Trin Warren Tam-boore
Information about Royal Park and Trin Warren Tam-boore can be found on the City of Melbourne website at http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=25&pa=1273&pg=1300